On behalf of the Social Democrats, I strongly support the motion on Eurojust. It is exactly the kind of area on which we should be working together. I condemn in the strongest possible terms the war crimes being carried out by the Putin regime against the civilian population in Ukraine. Soldiers have been implicated in looting civilian property including food, clothing, fuel and firewood. There have been threats against civilians, unlawful violence, torture, sexual violence, repeated rape, summary executions, the u…

First, I want to respond to some of the comments that have been made. There is a problem with some politicians and some public representatives opposing housing. There could be other instances, but I am only aware of one where councillors voted to de-zone land that was earmarked and needed for social housing. We all know that it is needed, because of the crisis we are in and because of the huge increases in homelessness. There was a 22% increase in homelessness in the last year. There was a 30% increase in the numbe…

-----responsibility for increased homelessness on any vulnerable groups. In the last 12 months, we have seen the number of children living in emergency accommodation increase by 30%. Behind these numbers are individuals and families who are struggling to maintain some semblance of normality and routine. They are doing their best to keep up the school routine for their children, despite living miles away from school in emergency accommodation. They are living miles away from jobs and in emergency accommodation where…

Problems are faced by renters in every part of the country. However, I want to ask the Minister about investing in public transport to encourage more people to use it as part of our response to climate change. Is the Minister aware that Irish Rail is advancing proposals that will remove direct train services from part of the DART network? If this plan goes ahead, direct rail services to Dublin city centre will be taken away from a significant number of commuters on Dublin's northside. Journey times will also be inc…

My question-----

Will the Minister answer my question?

Can the Minister answer my question?

It is not scheduling.

The Minister is responsible for transport. He should be aware of this.

I move: That Dáil Éireann, on foot of the One Ocean Summit held in Brest, France, from 9-11 February 2022, hereby acknowledges— — the role of the world's oceans as weather and climate regulators, providers of oxygen and food, a source of renewable energy and natural resources, and as conduits for trade, and connecting societies and people, — the consequences of climate change, biodiversity loss and polluted oceans are clear and interlinked, meaning that fragile ocean ecosystems are suffering from environmental degr…

On information from the Government, the latest figures from the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, show rents have increased by an average of 9% across the country. The increase is much higher in some areas. The average rent in Dublin is now almost €2,000 per month, or almost €24,000 per year. As the Taoiseach knows, a significant number of people renting are in low-paid or minimum-wage jobs. Annual rents in Dublin are now in excess of the gross annual earnings of people in minimum-wage jobs. They are utterly unaffo…

Serious allegations have been made about a conflict of interest on the part of a member of An Bord Pleanála. Minutes from a meeting of the board show that, on 9 March, the deputy chairman of the board presided over a three-person board meeting that rejected a strategic housing development planning application. Both the Irish Examiner and The Ditch website have reported that this member of the board failed to declare a conflict of interest, as shown in the minutes, even though he has a 25% stake in the company that …

There has been recent dialogue with the Irish Refugee Council in the context of meeting the housing challenges of Ukrainian refugees. It is also important that we continue to meet the challenges we face in respect of the existing housing crisis and homelessness emergency. As a part of doing that, it is important that we look at solutions to find additional housing not already in demand or in the pipeline. Undoubtedly, part of the solution, as the Irish Refugee Council has proposed, is to ensure that some of the 162…

Last week, I raised with the Taoiseach the issue of long queues in Dublin Airport leading to some passengers missing their flights. After that, I was contacted by staff at Dublin Airport who stated that despite several years' service on the security team, they are still waiting for full-time contracts and are currently on rosters that give them little more than 20 hours' work per week. They indicated that the Dublin Airport Authority, DAA, has many fully trained and experienced security staff who would love to be w…

President Zelenskyy spoke powerfully to the Oireachtas this morning about the effect the ongoing war is having on the civilian population in the Ukraine and about how civilians fleeing war are being killed in cars on roadways as they attempt to leave the besieged city of Mariupol. We must all condemn in the strongest possible terms the treatment of the civilian population in Ukraine by the invading forces from Russia, the bombardment of cities and civilians, the use of hunger as a weapon, as mentioned by President …

I thank the Regional Group for bringing forward this motion, which I broadly support. The motion addresses the relevant issue of vacant properties. I will make one comment on the motion that I mean in a constructive sense. The motion proposes a long list of incentives and measures but it omits other measures that we know from international experience are effective in dealing with vacancy, such as a tax on vacant buildings and vacant homes that are not put into use. We also need those sorts of measures. I am fully a…

With no disrespect to the Minister of State, I am disappointed not only that the Minister has left the Chamber but also that we do not have present a Minister of State from the Department that is handling this legislation. I question how, at a political level, the comments I propose to make will feed into the process. I very much welcome the Bill and the establishment of a permanent electoral commission, which was a long time coming. I acknowledge the very hard work done on this Bill, but I want to focus on a few k…

There have been huge queues in Dublin Airport in recent days, resulting in people missing flights. These queues are being caused by a lack of staff to carry out security checks. The Dublin Airport Authority, DAA, is advertising for more security staff. The advertisement for these roles makes it clear that staff must be available to work 40 hours a week across a 24-7 roster. Employees must be available to work at weekends, on bank holidays, at night-time and early in the morning. However, the DAA is only guaranteein…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am sharing time. As the rental crisis deepens, we see growing reports of a cohort of landlords attempting to exploit the vulnerable position some tenants and renters are in by demanding sex in lieu of rent or for a reduced rent. Recently there have also been disturbing reports of individuals attempting to exploit women fleeing the war in Ukraine and looking for somewhere safe to stay with offers of sex in lieu of rent. One landlord offered accommodation in Clare …

I thank all of the Deputies from across the House in various parties and groups for their very helpful and constructive comments on the Bill and for their support. I specifically thank Ann Murphy and the Irish Examiner for all of the work they have done on highlighting this. It would not have come to light and we would not be debating the Bill and trying to address this if it was not for their very important work on it. It really shows the huge importance of independent investigative journalism and how important it…